THE
LAWḤ-I [MUHAMMAD `ALĪ ]
SAYYĀH
("TABLET OF THE
TRAVELER")
THIS IS NOW
BEING REVISED
2006
The Lawḥ-i Sayyāḥ "Tablet of the
Traveler"
or "Courier" is also known (for reasons that are nor clear) as the Sūrat al-widād
("The Sura the Love"). It is to be dated to the early Edirne [Adrianople] period (c.1864/5?)
and is wholly in Arabic being primarily addressed to Mullā [Hajjī]
Muhammad `Alī-yi Sayyāh Maḥallatī, known as Adā Gāzal [Turk.(?) =`Illustrious
[Good of] Name' Per. nāknām (Ganj, 79] Marāghihā (d. Cyprus August 4th 1871).
The expression wādī al-nabīl (lit. `illustrious vale'
or "Vale of Nabīl") in a mystical passage towards the end of this Tablet has
been interpretated by Bahā'-Allāh himself as prophetic of `Akkā (Acre in Ottoman
Palestine) his final place of exile. This in the light of the fact that the
numerical (abjad) value of the words Nabīl and the place name `Akkā both equal 92. The pasage in question is as follows:
When [in fact] We discovered them in this state
We wept over them and over Our [My] isolation and Our [My] withdrawal and We withdrew from them even as the
[gentle] wafting of the zephyr from a sanctified, exquisitely inhabited (?) Riḍwān until We arrived in the
Vale [Wādī] of Nabīl [= abjad 92 = abjad `Akkā'] (wādī al-nabīl). Such [This] is the rivulet [spring] (al-ma`āyn) by virtue of
which Salsabīl cascadeth upon this Name from which the Kingdom of
Names (malakūt al-asmā') hath appeared for it was supremely
sanctified from depiction in all worlds."
In a lengthy untitled Persian Tablet composed almost a decade
later, in a Tablet of the (mid. 1293/1876-7) `Akkā period, Bahā'u'llāh at one
point states after citing and interpreting various Bābī writings and biblical
texts,
"Wherefore in the Land of Mystery (arḍ al-sirr = Edirne,
Adrianople] was it [`Akkā, Palestine, Holy Land,
Bahā'-Allāh] designated by the
Tongue of Grandeur [in the Lawḥ-i Sayyāh) as the Vale of Nabīl
(wād[ī]
al-nabīl) and this is that Vale (wād[ī) in which the Call [Voice] of
the prophets (nidā' jamā`-yi anbiyā') was raised up..." (MA 7:[174-255],
190)
Referring to this matter in his God Passes By, Shoghi
Effendi writes,
Bahā'u'llāh himself, as attested by Nabīl in his
narrative, had as far back as the first years of His banishment to
Adrianople, alluded to that same city [`Akkā] in his Lawḥ-i Sayyāh,
designating it as the "Vale of Nabīl,"...
"Upon Our arrival We were welcomed
with banners of light, whereupon the Voice of the Spirit cried out saying:
"Soon will all that dwell on earth be enlisted under these banners.'"
(GPB:184).
Prov. Trans. from the Arabic Haifa supplied text (Feb. 1987)
and INBMC 36:53-60. Stephen N. Lambden (Rev. May 1998)
THE
LAWḤ-I SAYYĀH
("TABLET OF THE TRAVELER")
[0]
In My Name the Splendid, the All-Glorious
(al-bahiyy al-abhā')
[1]
[1]
O `Alī!
Bear thou witness that I, verily, am the theophany of God (ẓuhūr Allāh)
in the realm of Eternity (jabarāt al-baqā'),
His Interiority (buṭūn) in the Depth of the realm of the Celestial Cloud (ghayb al-`amā');
the Ancient [Pre-Existent] Beauty (jamāl al-qidam) in the Kingdom of Glory (malakāt al-bahā')
and the Pristine Purity of the Spirit (sādhij al-rūḥ) in
the Most Elevated Robe (qamīṣ al-a`lā).
[2]
All were created at My
Command, circumambulate about My Might
and are operative through My Logos-Directive
[3]
Before My Countenance do all prostrate and take firm hold of
the hem of the garment of Our Providence even if they remain unconscious of this
within themselves by virtue of this
wondrous Temple (al-haykal al-badā`).
[4]
Say:
`This
is the Point (al-nuqṭa) from which the Words of God were
realized
and the sacred, pristine scriptures
(ṣaḥā'if quds tajrād) and
mighty, preserved Tablets
(alwāḥ `izz ḥafīẓ) made manifest'.
[5]
Say:
`[He is assuredly] the Word of God
(kalimat Allāh)
from which the Points were manifested
and unto which they are
caused to return.
Then it is also by virtue of this
[ Word / the Points]
that [things] come to pass
at an appointed time'.
[6]
Say:
`The Proof
(al-burhān) was
made manifest from this
[Word of God = the Point(s)]
in all the eras and the Words of God
were completed
as
was His Proof (ḥujjat) unto all the worlds'.
[7]
Say:
`Should He manifest but a single letter it would assuredly be utterly novel relative to all that hath been mentioned
in the created domain throughout an eternity of eternities (fī
azal al-āzāl)
and compared to all that hath streamed forth from the [Divine] Pen (al-qalam)
within
mighty, perspicuous Tablets'
(alwāḥ
`izz mubīn).
[II]
[1]
Say: By God!
[The revelation of such
a novel letter]
is sweeter indeed than all hath been uttered about
it by the tongues of holiness;
about which the denizens
of the Supreme Concourse (ahl malā' al-a`lā)
cry out and the people of
the fathomless depths
of the spheres of laudation
(ahl lujaj al-musabbiān)
do vocalize beyond the pavilions of Infallibility
(surādiq
al-`iṣma).
[2]
Say: By God!
Through but a Melody resulting therefrom, the Dove [Nightingale] warbleth upon the
branches
and the Evidence of the
All-Merciful doth gleam in a Mighty Sovereign.
[3]
Say: O Concourse of Traitors!
There hath come upon ye the Punishment
[Catastrophe] of
God and His Wrath
(`adhāb Allāh wa qahrahu)
so perish ye through the fire
which God hath allowed to well up within thine own selves,
then place fingers of aversion into thine ears; then return ye unto the lowest
depths of hell-fire
upon the abyss of Gehenna.
[III]
[1]
Say:
`It is assuredly the Thunderbolt of God (ṣā`iqa
Allāh) which hath indeed appeared from the
cloud of the Divine Power accompanied by a stunning Meteor such that
it will inhibit satanic beings from listening in
to these
secrets which lay beneath the veils of Power and render them remote from attaining unto God, the Mighty, the One Praised.
[2]
Say: `By God!
In this Day there is no escape for any soul other then that they should believe in this resplendent Evidence
and this sufficient,
complete, wondrous, matchless Proof (al-ḥujjat) or,
disbelieving in the Evidences of God (ḥujjaj Allāh)
which hath been set forth aforetime, along with His signs, His Messengers and His chosen ones,
[as thou wouldst realize] if thou were of the truly informed.
[3]
Say:
`In this Day God will never accept a single thing from anyone even though he become prostrate before Him
for an eternity of
eternities or make mention of Him with all that hath been sent down
from the heaven of Might at the time of the Messengers
[of the past] except he should enter within these pavilions,
which hath, in truth been raised up, and which
the concourse of all the worlds enter beneath its shadow.
[4]
And whomsoever should fail to enter beneath the shadow
of this Countenance hath ever come out from
the shadow of God, and none among all the worlds shall be exempted from this decree.
[IV]
[1]
Say:
`We were [sojourning] amongst you for many
a year in times past
and We [even] concealed Our Countenance from all possessed
of clear vision,
perchance anyone amongst the peoples of the earth might discern
Us;
and [in this respect] God beareth evident witness and is [truly] informed.
[2]
Yet
when the wayward returned [to their ways], We
lifted up the veil of concealment from
the
Countenance of [Our] Beauty (wajh jamāl).
And We disclosed it even as the midmost, noonday Sun
(ka-'l-shams fā quṭb al-zawāl).
[3]
So blessed be
God the Originator of the totality of creatures
[4]
Say: The Test (al-fitnah)
hath appeared through the instrumentality of God,
the
Powerful, the Supremely Exalted, the Mighty.
[5]
The Just
Balance (al-mīzān bi'l-`adl) hath appeared and by means of it all deeds
hath been weighed
[as thou wouldst know] if thou wert of
such
as bear witness.
[V]
[1]
Say:
`O concourse of the earth!
If thou desire to hearken
unto the melodies of God
(naghmat Allāh)
then hearken unto these
wondrous, sweet Melodies
(al-naghamāt al-badā` al-malā).
[2]
And if thou
desire that thou might witness
the Beauty of God (jamāl Allāh)
then
witness thou this Mighty, Luminous Beauty
(al-jamāl al-`azāz al-munīr).
[3]
Say:
`By God! This Day no one is capable of hearkening
unto the Call of God (nidā' Allāh)
save that they should purify their
ears from all that hath been heard from the people
and burn wholly away all the veils and take leave of the world (al-dunyā')
and
whomsoever thereon is within its shade.'
[4]
Endeavour ye, then ye draw nigh unto the Lote-Tree of Might (sidrat al-`izz) and hearken
unto the Call of God from the [Sinaitic] Fire which blazeth from this Elevated,
Invincible Tree.
[VI]
[1]
O Àlī [Sayyāh]!
Say:
`By God! The Spirit (al-ruh)
hath, in very truth, returned on this Eternal (al-azalī), Everlasting
(al-abadī),
Timeless (al-ṣarmad
ī), Perpetual (al-amadī),
Unique (al-aḥadī) and Pre-Existent (al-qidamī) Beauty (al-jamāl).
[2]
He summoneth thee unto God, the Exalted and unto what hath been sent down
in the Bayān on the part of a Mighty, Powerful Sovereign.
[3]
And He giveth
thee news of the Riḍwān of God (riḍwān Allāh) and guideth thee unto a
sacred, noble shore
(shāṭī quds karām).
[VII]
[1]
Speed ye O people! to the guidance of
God
(bi-hidayat Allāh) and
[the attaining of] His
[eschatological] Meeting] (liqā') and do not act towards Him as ye
did
the Sent Messengers of God (rusul Allāh) aforetime.
[2]
Fear ye God, O People!
and be ye not
[numbered] among persons corrupt .
[3]
Furthermore, O
people! withhold ye not the clouds of God
from [pouring
forth] its Bounty, the Breeze of Godfrom its being diffused, nor His Beauty (jamāl)
[being made manifest] from this Luminous Ornament
(al-ṭarāz al-munīr).
[VIII]
[1]
Wherefore deal ye equitably, O People of the Bayān!
If ye
believe not these verses then for what reason did ye believe [in the Messengers of God] aforetime,
if ye are [to be numbered
amongst] the righteous.
[5]
Can ye [possibly] be content with thyselves when ye have
committed the like of what was committed
by the people of the Criterion?
[6]
Wherefore is wearied with ye, O concourse of the heedless!
[7]
Were ye were not forgetful the moment when the
Sovereign of Messengers (sulṭān al-rusul),
in very Truth came unto thee
with the name of Alī [Muhammad = the Bāb]
and with him Luminous [snow-]
Whiteness (bayḍā' munīr), a Perspicuous Book (kitāb mubān)
and a
Mighty Tablet (lawḥ `aẓīm).
[8]
Then did the unbelievers
rise up against him with calumnies which hath no
precedent
among whatsoever hath been created whether betwixt the heavens or the
earth.
[9]
They did unto him [the Bāb] the like of which We [I] cannot deem it
fit to mention;
the very hearing [ear] of such as are affirmative of the Oneness
of God could not bear to hearken.
[10]
Wherefore do We
inform thee of what transpired aforetime perchance the people might be
discerning within themselves
and not act towards his servant [= Bahā'u'llāh] to
an even greater degree than they had done [previously]
and might be numbered
among such as have returned unto God,
who have reoriented
themselves towards Him, and who have their [God given] abode
on the [eschatological] Day in which He shall gather together [for judgment]
all the creatures.
[IX]
[1]
O Glorious Horseman [Knight]!
(fāris
al-jalāl)
Communicate unto the servants [Bābīs] that which have divulged
unto thee in
[the course of] thy journey at the moment when
thou didst travel
[depart] from the orient of the Divine Cloud
(mashrīq al-`amā')
unto the
Dawning-Place of Eternal Subsistence (maṭla` al-baqā') in the most
transcendent heights;
when thou wert proceeding with the
Cord [Mountain] of Holiness (abl al-quds)
in the
atmosphere of the Spirit (hawā'
al-rā).
[2]
Say:
`We
journeyed until We arrived beyond the mountain of musk in
the resplendent Spot
(buq`at al-sanā').
[3]
Nigh this locale [Spot] We witnessed a company of
the sanctified [holy] ones all but stupefied [at a standstill]
(mawqūf
an)
bearing [but] one of the Divine Names
[4]
They were [about to be] engaged in
sanctifying God above what was evident in the worlds of
Names and Attributes
(`awālim al-asmā' wa'l-ṣifāt)
and beyond all that the assembled, most
elevated denizens of contingent realms
were capable of comprehending
[5]
Then did We rise up within their field of
vision and sojourned amongst them and divulged
Our Glory
unto them through the Ornament of God
(bi-ṭarāz
Allāh).
[
6]
Wherefore was the Decree [Cause](al-amr) in very truth fulfilled [realized] in the
Vale of the Divine Might (wād
al-`izz).
[7]
We were in that condition for a period which the Pen cannot possibly do justice
inasmuch the Bounty Our Mercy outstripped all
the worlds,
perchance they should be oriented towards
He Whom they should have
been engaged in sanctifying
during their days and come to a knowledge of their
Creator and their Master [especially] after they
had been eternally
supplicating him at every moment.
[8]
So
when We found them taking firm hold of
the Cord of Names and negligent of the
Designated Sovereign,
We concealed the [Divine] Face (al-wajh) from them and We went up [away] from among [between] them and
departed from them
until We arrived in
the Paran of Holiness (fārān al-quds) beyond the
Mountain of Ruby (warā' jabal al-yāqāt)
in the beloved Sacred Locale
[Spot]
(buq`at al-quds mabāb an).
[9]
There We found a people engaged in
eternally serving God in both their rising up and their sitting,
their bowing down and their prostration [ṣalat-type devotional activities] and We thus oriented Ourself in their direction
through the manifest Beauty of Holiness (bi-jamāl
al-quds), perchance they might come to understand
their
Pre-Existent Master, be ennobled with the Encounter
[Meeting] with Him and enter into the shadow in which
the Countenance
was radiating forth like the Sun from the Horizon of [Divine] Might.
[X]
[1]
Then We abandoned such as were
occupied with their base passion and ascended unto
secreted, sacred locales.
[2]
We journeyed in the atmosphere of proximity to God
(hawā' al-qurb)
until we reached the termination of the realm of Existent
Reality (muntahā'al-maqām fā'l-imkān)
which is a Mighty, Blessed Vale
[3]
There did We find a company [people] (al-qawm) such as celebrate the divine oneness,
[devotedly] occupied in celebrating
the oneness of God
in their inmost reality as well as outwardly
(fi'l-sirr wa'l-jahr).
[4]
They bore witness unto the Artistry of God
[Divine Alchemy] (sana` Allāh)
in the horizons of the domains of being and in themselves
(cf. Q. 00:00).
[5]
Such was indeed the Decree [Command] (al-amr), in very truth, evident;
as if they had attained the Divine Oneness (fi'l-tawḥīd) to the utmost degree, [unto] a station
above which
even the wings of the possessors of acme of attainment [understanding] can never soar;
unless that is, God
thy Lord and my Lord, and the Lord of all the worlds, should so will.
[6]
It was
indeed as if they had in no wise witnessed a [single] thing save that they had
witnessed God
enthroned and self-subsistent thereover it.
[7]
Seated are they upon thrones of
contemplative testimony and mystic revelation, and [occupying]
mighty, unique
[heavenly] seats.
[8]
They were at that
[spiritual] station until there came upon them the [episode of the] trial and the tribulation
such as was decreed in the
Tablets [of destiny] (al-alwāḥ) and was inscribed by
the Pen of [Divine]
Providence (qalam al-qaḍā') upon the Tablet of the Command
(lawḥ
al-amr).
[9]
Then did We breathe upon them
with the breezes of the
All-Merciful and wafted in their
direction the
fragrance of the robe [of the divine Joseph] from this Youth
(rā'iḥat
al-qamīṣ min hadhā al-ghulām)
perchance they might experience these
[scented] breezes which were sent down from
the Riḍwān of God.
[10]
Yet did We find them in land of heedlessness,whereby these [breezes]
were communicated
[unto them] by virtue of which
the fragrance which diffuses from them impels
all existence things (al-mawjādāt)
towards a proximate, praiseworthy court.
[XI]
[1]
Thereafter did
We arrive through Our own True Logos-Self [not Yahyā] amongst them
manifesting a beloved,
sacred, Beauty
(bi-jamāl quds mabūb
an)perchance through the
brilliance of the Countenance
they might be moved to remembrance and be guided unto He Whose
Oneness they
had been celebrating during their days
and enter into the
fathomless deep of reunion which is [nothing less than]
a station (maqām),
separation from which the eyes of the cherubic beings [those who are nigh unto God] became tearful.
[2]
And We dwelt in
observation, for months beyond measure
and years without limit yet We did not find them
possessed of [even] an atoms' weight of receptivity.
[3]
Thus do We recount their
deeds in this Tablet which at this moment
rests upon the thigh of God.
[4]
And since Our
Mercy had preceded all the worlds, We abandoned them not and We moved away from
the earlier position of observation.
[5]
We oriented Ourselves so as to effect an
encounter
with their [searching] vision.
[6]
We were patient and dwelt in that
place [Kurdistan?] for a period which was exalted above
the limitation of all
the worldly things
[7]
This perchance they would not
withold themselves from that for which they were created
and be occupied during their
days
and in such years as were allotted
for
the magnification
of His Oneness.
[8]
When it transpired that We found them in a state of
intoxication over the Cause
and
heedlessness towards Him through
but a letter of Whom they were created in
the worlds of Names.
[9]
When [in fact] We
discovered them in this state
We wept over them and over Our [My] isolation
and
Our [My] withdrawal [separation, exile]
and We
withdrew from them
even as the [gentle] wafting of the Zephyr
from a sanctified,
exquisitely inhabited Riḍwān
until We arrived in
the Vale of Nabīl [= abjad 92 = abjad `Akkā']
(wādī al-nabīl).
[10]
Such is the rivulet [spring] (al-ma`āyn) by virtue of which Salsabīl cascadeth upon this Name
from which the Kingdom of
Names hath appeared
for it was supremely sanctified
above depiction
within all the
worlds.
[XII]
[1]
And [there] We discovered a people who welcomed Us with mighty, resplendent countenances
and with sacred, unique Personages
[Temples]
(bi-hayākil
quds --a-adiyy an).
[2]
And in their hands were banners of
victory [light]
(a`lām
al-naṣr [nūr]).
[3]
And there was written thereon with a Ruby,
Crimson Pen,
`By God! These assuredly are the banners of the victory of
God
(a`lām naṣr Allāh)
which are raised up, in the shadow of this Name, as
long as God endureth.'
[4]
And these are a people who, were they to express their
love for God,
both inwardly and outwardly, it would be as if they witnessed no
other thing
and naught save this was heard by them.
[5]
And if they were to
praise God in their inmost reality according to this
cryptically majestic Mystery
(al-sirr al-mujallal),
in secret according to the concealed, cryptic cipher
(bi'l-sirr `ala al-ramz al-khafā marmāz
an).
[6]
Wherefore did We behold them
and We safeguarded their affair with something
praiseworthy according to the words of God.
[7]
It was as if their deeds and their selves became the very Logos-Self of the Cause of God (nafs amr
Allāh)
showing neither distinction nor separation.
[8]
And they were to make
mention of God in this compete (al-atamm), greatest (al-akbar), exalted (al-Àlī),
all-glorious (al-abhā') Word (kalimat)
which is expressive of the station
which is detached from all limitations [aspects] (al-jihāt).
[9]
Wherefore hath the Herald (al-munād) ["Voice of the Spirit"] cried out ,
`God shall raise up He Who will cause the people to enter into
the shadow of
these banners (al-a`lā m)
with a sovereignty
which cometh from Him and a Power which is of Him that the
Bounty (al-faḍl) in this season [of separation] (al-fal)
might
descend from the Riḍwān of the Word (ridwān al-kalimat) upon all the
worlds.
[11]
Wherefore do We cast upon thee that which We witnessed on Our
journey
such that thou might gain insight into this matter according to the
secrets which were veiled within the pavilions of the
Cause
(surādiq al-amr) beyond the veils of Light
(ijāb al-nār).
[VII]
[1]
Say: O people!
Fear ye God!
Then realize ye He Who hath come unto you aforetime in a subsequent
Robe
(qamīṣihi al-ukhrā ).
[2]
Give ear unto His melodies through these
melodies
which were raised up between the worlds according to the Accent of God
.
[3]
Say: By God! If ye fail to recognise Him [=Bāb?] in this
Beauty (al-jamāl)
thou shalt not hearken unto His [the Bāb's] verses (āyāt)
in these [Bahā's] verses (āyāt) neither will there be confirmed
for thee the
knowledge [gnosis] of His Self (`irfān nafsihi) on the Day in which He,
in very Truth, came unto thee and bestowed upon thee
that which thou wast
promised in the sacred, preserved Tablets
(alwāh quds mafāz an).
[VIII]
[1]
Say O people!
This is the Youth of
God (ghulām Allāh), His servant (`abd)
and His attendant [assistant] (khādim),
His Proof (ujjat)
and His Sovereign (sulān); His Beauty (jamāl) and His Might (`izz);
His Grandeur (kibriy ā') and His Demonstration (burhān);
His Evidence and His
Bounty (fal) upon the inhabitants of
the heavens and of the earth.
[2]
Thus was,
this moment, the matter from the heaven of the command
(samā' al-amr) in
very truth concealed in this Tablet.
[3]
So let whoever so desireth speed unto the
Presence of God
with both the heart and through the feet.
[4]
Then whomsoever wants to act contray to this
let him return unto Wrath which cometh
from the Fire of Unbelief (nār al-kufr)
ignited at the
command of God.
[5]
Can anyone dispute [ the truth of] these verses
and claim to
be faithful unto His Self?
[6]
Nay! by He in Whose hand is My Self.
Never for
such an one will manifest disbelief in God and in His verses,
His Messengers and
His chosen ones.
[7]
And should thou be humiliated for the sake of
My Name,
be
thou patient, be not saddened, and trust in God, thy Lord
Who will render thee self-sufficient above all
the worlds.
[8]
And if thou see the name of God Javād [-i Karbālā'ā?]
then spread out thy book between his hands so he may recite it
in his heart
and with his tongue then call Us to his remembrance
with a
beauteous mention [remembrance] (bi-dhikr jamāl an).
[9]
Then call also
to remembrance whosoever is with him
to the end that the Remembrance of God (dhikr
Allāh)
may be with both of them and in very truth with the foremost people.
[10]
Then [finally] call to remembrance such are were in thy region
among such as
have believed in God and were upright
as regards the [Divine] Love.
And the
Spirit, the Light and the Glory (al-rā wa'l-nār wa'l-bahā')
be upon thee and
upon whomsoever is with thee be they lowly or mighty.
GPB:184 = "Upon Our arrival We were welcomed with banners of
light, whereupon the Voice of the Spirit cried out saying: "Soon will all that
dwell on earth be enlisted under these banners.'" (GPB:184).
GPB:371-2 (Nasru'llah Mavaddat) Rev. ed. 149/1992
Text is given from the Law-i Sayyāh here with omissions -- see
underlined text above which IN PART --it loosely corresponds to Shoghi Effendi's
English translation.
BAHA'U'LLAH baha'u'llah Bahá'u'lláh
Baha'-Allah Bahá
